To insure the health of marine animals and plants that live in salt water aquariums, it is necessary to maintain the cleanliness, purity and health of the water. Examples of impurities, which commonly degrade the aquarium environment, are organic wastes, such as fish feces and uneaten food, chemicals in unpurified water and common house dust. Any of these impurities can effect the desired chemical balance of the water and, in particular, the ammonia nitrate cycle, which results from the break-down process of nitrogenous waste. The rate of rise of the nitrate concentration greatly effects the environment within the aquarium and, to a large extent, the level of nitrates determines the frequency that the water must be changed. Accordingly, a great number of products for filtering and treating aquarium water have been developed.
On smaller fresh water aquariums, filtering may only consist of a simple filtering element for controlling water circulation, and an aeration system. On larger aquariums, and particularly salt water aquariums where delicate varieties of fish and other marine life live, a more complex filtering system must be utilized, such as a wet/dry filter. A wet/dry filter operates by skimming water from the top of the tank by means of a prefilter box, and diffusing the water through a filtering chamber. The wet/dry filter uses media that operates both partially in the air and partially submerged in the water, which allows the contaminated water to be diffused through the filter in small droplets. Other types of filter media used in the art are Double Layer Spiral filters (DLS) or Bio-Balls.
Chemical filtration, which facilitates the removal of, or deactivation of, organic substances is also well known in the art. Activated carbon and ion-exchange resins are commonly used materials in this type of filtration. While this type of filtration is frequently utilized, it is generally ineffective for purifying the water and eliminating many of the commonly known nitrogenous waste products.
Another type of filtration that is probably the most important and least utilized, is that of aerobic biological filtration. Aerobic biological filtration is accomplished by means of a living organism, primarily bacteria. The break-down process of nitrogenous waste by the bacteria is known as nitrification. During nitrification, accumulated ammonia in the tank is converted to nitrites and nitrates. The ammonia is oxidized by nitrosomonas bacteria to nitrites. The nitrites are then further oxidized by nitrobacteria to produce nitrates which are not toxic.
The use of biological aerobic filtration is also important because it serves to convert toxic ammonia to nitrates, thus forming a complete ecosystem. Prior art filters which provide aerobic filtration, such as the previously mentioned wet/dry and chemical filtration can be complex, inefficient, large and expensive. These filters include a separate component or chamber providing mechanical filtration and an aerobic component or chamber providing the wet/dry filtering. Most of these type of filters use siphon tubes to remove water from the tank and a pump to return the filtered water.
These prior art filters require siphon tubes to draw aquarium water from a profilter into the primary filter from where the water is routed into a sump where a pump pumps the aerobically filtered water back into the aquarium. As a result, the filters require a balance between the input to the primary filter and the output of the prefilter, to avoid either overflowing the aerobic chamber or not having sufficient water for the motorized/electric pump to return the water to the aquarium. These filters are not adaptable for use with a gravity return mechanism as they are gravity fed, therefore they must use a pump to return the water. Further, some of these types of filters do not have any safeguards in case the pump(s) should clog or stop, thereby causing water to over flow the sump of other components.
It has become apparent that there is a need for an integrated salt water filter system which will satisfy the requirements of the various marine life housing situations, and provide exceptional mechanical and aerobic filtration, that is conveniently and easily installed, used and maintained.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 5,397,463 Woltmann 14 March 1995 5,171,438 Korez 15 December 1992 5,084,164 Del Rosario 28 January 1992 5,006,230 Votava III, et al 9 April 1991 ______________________________________
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,463 Woltmann patent discloses an aquarium filtration device for salt water aquarium tanks, which utilizes a combination of a physical filter and an aerobic filter positioned externally of the aquarium tank. Water is fed into the physical filter chamber by gravity tubes and upon reaching a level above the chamber walls of the physical filter it spills by gravity flow to both an aerobic filter, also contained within the housing, and back into the aquarium tank. The water passing through the aerobic filter then returns to the physical filter where the filtering is repeated.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,438 Korez patent discloses a mechanical aquarium filtration system, biological in nature, having the capability to include chemical filtration. The system uses high-density filter elements for biological bacteria, in a series of chambers operated by a single pump.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,164 Del Rosario patent discloses a filter assembly and housing for use with a small salt water aquarium that includes a housing formed of two molded halves of high impact thermoplastic resin, each having a flange and where in the flanges are fastened together to provide a complete housing and includes a lid structure for the housing. The housing halves include a number of pairs of horizontal inwardly extending shelves on each half which provide support for internal components that include a DLS filter element and a plastic grid support. A plate is included for supporting an elbow member that receives water from the aquarium and an adjustable diffuser attached to the elbow for distributing the water over the filter element. Additionally, there is a second plastic grid support below the filter element and additional filtering and/or buffering material supported thereon, a window and channel molded into the front half of the housing and a float-operated low water indicator to indicate a low water condition by appearing in the window. A protein skimmer can be located in the housing to remove surfactants from contaminated water. The housing connects to an external motor pump to pump cleaned water back to the aquarium.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,230 Votava III, et al patent discloses an aquarium water filtration system which includes intake means for aquarium water, prefilter means and water transfer means for aquarium water to transfer from the intake to the prefilter. Both mechanical and froth filtration of the aquarium water is carried out in the prefilter, which comprises a plurality of chambers separated by walls of different heights. The aquarium water is gravity fed into and through the prefilter, and between the various chambers of the prefilter, its flow being determined by the relative heights of the separating walls, as well as by the heights of openings in certain areas of the walls.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search.
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 5,306,241 Weinstein 26 April 1994 5,242,582 Marioni 7 September 1993 5,108,594 Givanetti, et al 28 April 1992 ______________________________________